[11] A deep cutting through the hill. They are common features in Nippon. Many valleys are only accessible by a climb, unless mitigated by a kiridōshi, or obviated by a tunnel. Kamakura, for instance, is accessible by land in no other way. Asahina kiridōshi: there are several others.
[12] The description is curious. Writing fifty years ago Ryuō tells us these men no longer practised. His book is not readily met with and the passage in the original is worth preserving—"Kono sunegiri yatsu to iu wa tadaima de wa arimasen ga; makurajima no tabi ni asaura wo haki, sankeigyō no kyahan de, nagai no wo ippon sashi. Eh! Tō de o isogi de nai. Okata wa watakushi no mosu koyaku no kōnō wo kiite o motome nasai. Nukeba tamachiru nagai no yaiba da nure kami de mo kayo ni kireru, tadaima yatsu ga wo kiri chi wo tomete goran ni ireru; to maru de kiru yō desu ga ha (yaiba) no aru tokoro wa madzu no kata bakari de, moto no kata wa yaiba ga hiite aru yue, sono ha hiku no tokoro wo ude he ataru to suji ga tsuku bakari de kire washimasen ga, tanka ga kireru kara, chiwa taki-tsu se no gotoku nagareru. Chi ni wa sakarawazu ikusa naka ko wo mochiireba, sokuza ni todomaru nani mae kara todotteru no desu ga, hagyū da kara maru de chi ga tomaru yō ni micru kara, kono ho he hitotsu gai, kono ho he futatsu gai, to uremasu."—"Yotsuya Kwaidan," pp. 31-32.
[13] One-fourth of a ryō = 15 silver mommé = 872 grains Troy. Money had much greater purchasing value at that time as compared with the present days; perhaps 20 times, but adulteration of the coinage caused great variations.
[14] The Machibugyō was judge and prosecutor (procurator or district attorney); the two offices being held by the same man. A court trial included both functions. Tengu, used below, is the long-nosed wood bogey. There is a note in Benkei, i, 260.
[15] The tawara equals two-fifths of a koku. At present-day figures the stipend of Tamiya can be put at about 2000 yen; that of Itō Kwaiba, mentioned later, at 13,000 yen. The great daimyō with incomes running into the hundreds of thousands of koku were princes administering part of the public domain, with armies and an elaborate civil service to support. Even a hatamoto (minor daimyō, immediate vassals of the shōgun) of 10,000 koku, such as Yagyū Tajima no Kami had a large train at his Edo yashiki and at his fief. The Daté House of Sendai, or the Maeda of Kaga, Etchū, and Echizen, are examples of the greater Tōzama, or lords independent in the administration of their fiefs. Labour, it is to be added, was cheap compared to food values. Taxes were heavy—ranging from 30 to 70 per cent. The middleman took his high fee. Yet sumptuary laws were necessary to prevent extravagance among the farming class. Some of them were rich men, especially in the better administered Tokugawa fiefs. The public works required of the daimyō—especially the Tōzama—prevented a dangerous accumulation of resources, and sometimes almost ruined his subjects. Accurate measurements of income are not available. The koku of daimyō income has been placed as high as ten bushels. The present-day koku equals 5.13 bushels. The price of rice ranges between 15-20 yen per koku.
[16] The title for all men of learning and professional attainments. The great medical doctor is "Sensei," the doctor of literature is "Sensei"—and the charlatan who peddles charms by the highway is "Sensei"—teacher.
[17] A technical social expression—"I trouble you" or "with highest respect and consideration." Satuma = Satsuma-Jōfu, the grass cloth of fine quality woven and dyed in Loo-choo; narrow swords; all this (Momogawa) is an example of the earnest study the kōdan lecturers make of their subject. These delightful little expositions of dress and manner are frequent.
[18] Rusu or rusuban = caretaker in the owner's absence. As often as not the wife is so regarded by the Japanese husband.
[19] Reiganji, the great temple giving the name to the Reigan district of Fukagawa, is one of the many temples there found. The Jōshinji is close by.
[20] A complicated checkers-chess like game.